Four in 10 Hong Kong hotel staff may lose jobs as coronavirus ... | scmp
Fourin10ofHongKong’shotelstaffmaylosetheirjobsinthecomingmonths,astravelrestrictionsagainstthecoronavirusoutbreakcouldbecomethefinalnailforanindustrythatisalreadystrugglingfromshrinkingtourismafternearlyeightmonthsofanti-governmentprotests.Theunemploymentrateintheindustry,whichemployed44,500peopleinthecityasoftheendof2019,couldsoarto40percent,saidEdwinLeongSiu-hung,founderofpropertydeveloperTaiHungFaiEnterprises,whocountsfourhotelsinhisrealestateportfolio.Smallhotelsandfamily-runinnswouldbep...
Four in 10 of Hong Kong’s hotel staff may lose their jobs in the coming months, as travel restrictions against the coronavirus outbreak could become the final nail for an industry that is already struggling from shrinking tourism after nearly eight months of anti-government protests.
The unemployment rate in the industry, which employed 44,500 people in the city as of the end of 2019, could soar to 40 per cent, said Edwin Leong Siu-hung, founder of property developer Tai Hung Fai Enterprises, who counts four hotels in his real estate portfolio. Small hotels and family-run inns would be particularly susceptible to the downturn in business, he said.
“Family-run guest houses and small hotel operators may be forced to close,” said Leong, Forbes magazine’s 23rd richest man in Hong Kong last year, with an estimated n...